Workin' K-9 to 5
by Greendogg
Summary: What started out as a typical spring day leads to one big adventure.
1. Carpooling

**Note: All characters are the property of Nintendo. Other material is the copy written to their owners. Anyway… on with the story!  
**

_It's a beautiful day in the countryside. We find our heroes on the road again heading towards the nearest town to catch the next train bound for the Johto region…_

"Hey Ash, slow down!" Brock shouted.

"Yeah," said May.

"Wait for us!" Max called as he and the others tried to catch up.

Ash stopped and turned around to face his friends.

"Sorry guys, I'm kinda eager to get there." He said to them.

"So are we but let's pace ourselves," May suggested.

"I agree, Beach Rose Town is only half an hour from here, how about we slow down for once?" Brock agreed.

"Ok," Ash sighed.

The four of them continued on their way at a slower pace, but after a while things didn't seem to be getting any better.

"Half an hour feels like it's longer than it really is." Said Ash.

"Now that you mention it, Beach Rose Town does seem further away." Max agreed.

"Chill, you guys." Said May.

"Yeah, we're almost there." Brock announced.

"How can you tell?" Ash asked.

"Look," Brock answered, pointing at the sky.

Just then, they were all alerted by a loud squawk.

"A wingull!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!" said Pikachu.

"If a wingull is all the way out here…" May stopped short.

"Then we're not too far off." Max finished.

"Yes! Beach Rose Town, here I come!" Said Ash, before he took off running with Pikachu not far behind.

"Pikachu!"

Brock, May and Max all groaned with sweat dripping down the sides of their faces.

"So much for pacing ourselves." Said May.

"I'll say," Brock added.

"Oy…" Max groaned.

_Later…_

"We're here! Huh?" said Ash.

Looking over his shoulder, he spotted his friends who looked exhausted.

"Why are you guys panting so hard?" he asked.

"We had to…catch…up… with you." May explained, trying to catch her breath.

"You didn't have to, I could've waited." Ash offered.

May's jaw dropped.

"Waited?! Why you little…"

Before she could do anything, Brock grabbed a hold of her left arm.

"Let's check the train schedule, shall we?" he suggested.

"Good idea, Brock." Said May, before the two of them headed towards the train station.

"Gosh, Max I don't know how you manage to put up with your sister like that." Ash said once they were out of earshot range.

"Well, I've been around her my whole life; so you get used to it." He said as he cleaned off his glasses.

"I've learned to get out of dodge." Said Ash.

"Yeah, there's that." Max pointed out.

"Are you two coming or what?" May called.

"We'll be right there." Ash replied.

"Sheesh!"

"Tell me about it." Said Max.

Sometime later they reached the train station. Next to the ticket booth was a bulletin board listing a schedule of arrivals and departures.

"So, when's the next train?" Ash asked.

"Well, according to this schedule, train 405 doesn't leave for Florando for another hour and a half." Brock answered.

"Great," May said with a sigh.

"What do we do till then?" Max asked.

"We can start by taking a break for lunch." Brock suggested.

"That's fine with me." Said Ash.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

Moments later…

While sitting at benches just outside the station, Ash and his friends were in the middle of having lunch when a familiar red head walked up to them.

"Well, isn't this a small world?" she asked.

All of them looked up and saw who it was.

"Remember me?" she asked.

"Misty!" Ash and Brock said simultaneously, nearly dropping their B.L.T. sandwiches.

"It's been a while." Ash pointed out.

"What are you doing here?" Brock asked.

"I came here for a contest; one of the handlers came down with the flu so I got the job of working with a Buizel." Misty explained.

"Awesome!" said Ash.

"So, who won?"

"Some trainer from Bloomingvale and her wingull." Misty answered.

Ash nearly choked on his sandwich.

"No comment whatsoever."

"So, where are you off to now?" May asked.

Misty sat down with the rest of the group before she replied.

"Bonitaville but the train was sold out, so I have to take the one going to Florando."

"Really? That's the train we're taking, how funny is that?" said Brock.

"Very," Misty answered.

"You wanna come with us?" Max asked.

"Max…" said May.

"Excuse my brother," she apologized.

"It's fine, I'd like to hang around if you don't have any other plans." Misty admitted.

Ash wiped the sourdough bread crumbs off his cheeks before he spoke.

"Nah, Florando's just a pit stop. We're really on our way to Bonitaville."

"For the film festival?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, Brock and I entered this year." Ash replied.

"It was just a short film with Pikachu, nothing special." Said Brock, who grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah right." Ash said to him.

"Well, I'd love to see it." Misty admitted.

"Great." Said Ash.

"It'll be nice to have another girl around. For once I can talk to somebody other than these three." May confessed.

"No offense, guys."

"None taken." The trio replied at the same time.

"Anyway, since we're got some time before the train gets here, you wanna have a look around town?" Misty asked.

"Sure," Ash answered.

"Sounds good to me." Said Max.

"I'm up for it," May said, adding her two cents.

Just then Brock remembered something.

"Oh! I almost forgot to buy our tickets! I'll be right back."

He quickly stood up and went inside the station to find the ticket booth.

Misty and everyone else lowered their heads, obviously embarrassed.

"Hasn't changed a bit." She sighed.

"Nope," said Ash.

"Pika," Pikachu groaned.

_Sometime later…_

As the five of them walked around the town, they took this opportunity to talk.

"So Ash, you plan heading back to Kanto after the film festival?" Misty asked.

"I haven't made up my mind yet to be honest. Speaking of Kanto, you hear from Tracy lately?" Ash replied.

"Yeah, we talked on Skype two days go." Said Misty.

"No way!" Ash exclaimed.

"How is he?" Brock asked.

"Fine, his job as Professor Oak's assistant seems to be going well. Apart from Gary's pigeot escaping." Misty explained.

Ash and Brock nearly fell over.

"Again?!" they said at the same time.

"What do you mean, again?" May asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a long story… Gary has a pigeot that's…" Ash trailed off.

"High strong, it got out one time because the aviary wasn't locked." Brock finished.

"Yikes." May and Max said in unison.

"We spent five hours trying to find him." Ash explained.

"Geez," said May.

"That must've been rough," Max added.

"Yeah, especially considering pigeots don't stay in one tree for long." Said Brock.

He and Ash groaned at the thought of what happened that day.

"Never… again." Ash muttered.

"I heard that," Brock agreed.

"Hey, check it out!" said May.

"Looks like there's a farmers' market going on today." Misty said as she read the sign in front of her.

"Sweet!" Max exclaimed.

"What do you say we look around?" Ash suggested.

"Yeah," May agreed.

"Let's…" said Misty.

"Wait up" Brock shouted before he went to catch up with the rest of the group.

"Wow, this is great," Misty said as she looked around.

"Sure is," Max agreed.

The farmers' market had several booths with various produce, flowers, baked goods and several homemade products.

"Hold up, anybody know what time it is?" Ash asked.

Brock looked at his watch for a moment.

"We got an hour, how about we split up and meet back here?"

The four of them were all standing near booth with several flowers and other plants for sale.

"That ok with you guys?" Ash asked, looking towards his three other friends.

"Fine by me." Said Misty.

"Me too," May replied.

"Same here," said Max.

"'Kay," was Ash's reply.

"See you in an hour." Said Brock.

And with that, they went separate ways.

"Pretty cool, huh Pikachu?" said Ash as he looked around at the various booths.

Just then, he noticed the yellow mouse was nowhere to be seen.

"Pikachu?"

Just then he heard a familiar voice.

"Pika!"

"There you are," Ash said when he found Pikachu had gone to one of the booths not too far away.

"Whoa! Nice…"

"Thank you." Said a female voice.

Sitting in the booth was a woman who looked to be in her early 20s and resembled a Blackfoot Native American.

"You make these yourself?" Ash asked, regarding the various leather bags, jackets and other things that were in the booth.

"Sure do." the woman replied.

"The cover on that journal there is real bouffalant hide."

"How much?" Ash continued.

"For that? Ten yen… you see that bag over there?" the woman answered.

Ash looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a medium sized leather bag hanging on a hook on the left hand side of the wall.

"Yeah." said Ash replied.

"Now that's twelve yen, you get that and I'll throw in one of these journals for free." She offered.

"Really?" Ash asked.

"Yes," was the reply he got back.

"I'll take it," said Ash to her.

"All right, Mato can you fetch that bag for me?"

Sitting next to her was a Herdier. His ears perked up at hearing his name.

Mato barked and went off to fetch the bag.

"Thanks, Cha'risa." Said Ash.

"Anytime." She replied.

After he left, Ash decided to check in on everyone else.

"C'mon Pikachu, let's go find the others."

"Pikachu," the yellow mouse replied and followed his trainer.

"So, like I was saying there was this pidgey and anyway…" Brock's story was interrupted when Ash came running up to him and the others.

"Hey guys."

"Hey," Brock greeted him.

"You made it back." Said Misty.

"For once." May added.

"Very funny, May." Said Ash.

"How'd it go?" Max asked.

"Great, I got…" Ash was cut off.

"We better head over to the station." Said Brock.

"Right," Ash agreed.

"Let's go." Said Misty.

_Fifteen minutes later..._

"I gotta say, that farmers market was awesome." Max admitted.

The group had boarded the train a few minutes ago and now had time to talk about how things went.

"What'd you guys get anyway?" Ash asked.

"I got garlic olive oil, gonna really enjoy using it. How about you?" Brock answered.

"Homemade lotion," said Misty.

"No way! I got that too, mine's called sea breeze." May explained.

"Which one did you get?"

"Brown sugar and vanilla." Misty answered.

"Oh great, it contains salt from the dead sea." Said May.

"Wow… anyway, I got these postcards. They're hand drawn." Said Max.

He held out a small box that contained a dozen postcards with black and white sketches of, squirtle, emolga and pidgey on the front.

"It's been a while since we wrote to our folks." May explained.

"Getting the postcards was her idea." Max added.

"So, Ash what'd you get?" Misty asked.

"It's a messenger bag, made from real bouffalant hide." Ash answered, holding up the dark brown leather bag for the others to see.

"Nice." Said Brock.

"Got a free journal too, this'll be great for writing about our trip." Ash continued.

"Anyway… did you hear Tracy got a vaporeon?" Misty asked.

"He did?" Brock replied.

"Get out!" Ash exclaimed.

"Yeah, her trainer said she was kind of a handful so Tracy took her in." Misty explained.

"Aw, that's nice maybe she and Diamond can hang out sometime." May suggested.

Misty frowned.

"Diamond?"

"She's my glaceon." May answered.

"Oh," was all Misty could say.

_Hours later…_

Ash looked out the window and yawned.

"How much further?" he asked.

"About another half hour, we'll stay in Florando for the night then tomorrow our stop will be Bonitaville." Brock explained.

"Phew! Good." Ash, Misty, May and Max sighed.

"Pika," Pikachu said, sounding relieved.

It was 6:30 pm by the time the train had reached Florando. The sun had gone down and the temperature had dropped.

"Hey, we're here." Said Ash.

"Huh?" Misty answered in a puzzled tone.

"Wha…?" Max sputtered in a drowsy tone as he and the others woke up.

"Well, how 'bout that?" May said as she looked out the window and saw a sign that said Welcome to Florando.

"C'mon." Brock told them before getting up.

After grabbing their backpacks, they proceeded to get off the train.

"The Garden Inn isn't far, we can check in once we get there." Said Brock.

"Sounds good to me." Ash confessed, like everyone else he was exhausted from traveling.

"Me too," May agreed.

"Pikachu," Pikachu sighed.

A short time later, they reached the Garden Inn. It was a small lodge type hotel mostly where those needing a place to stay for a night or two could check in. It was often a place some people went to when the Pokémon center was closed or was full to capacity.

"I have to admit, they gave us nice rooms." Said Ash.

He, Brock, Max and Pikachu were sharing a room while, Misty and May had a room next door to theirs.

"I agree, check out that view." Misty said pointing outside.

Ash the others looked out towards the balcony and could see not only a view of the pool outside but also downtown Florando.

"I'm gonna go pick up our pizza, you guys wanna tag along?" Brock asked.

"Sure," Ash answered.

"Ok," Max replied.

"We'll be back." Brock said before closing the door behind him, Ash and Max.

"Well, it's just us girls." May pointed out.

Misty sighed.

"Yep."

She and May smiled at each other.

"Sweet!" they said in unison and high fived.

A short time later, Brock and the others came back with the pizza. Although the group enjoyed his cooking and camping outside, having dinner indoors was a nice change of pace.

"You know, I was just thinking… it's gonna be spring in a couple of months… you have any ideas about what you might wanna do?" Brock asked.

Ash swallowed some of the pepperoni on his slice before he spoke.

"Actually, I'm kind of looking forward to the warmer weather."

"Me too, I love being outside plus if any of us plan on practicing for a contest, being outdoors is the best place." May pointed out.

"That's true," Max agreed.

"Point taken, May." Said Misty.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

Just then, May thought of something.

"Wait, the cherry trees bloom in March, right?"

"That's right. I hear one of the best places to view them in Johto is in Bloomingvale" Said Brock.

"Cool!" May exclaimed.

"Maybe we should add that to our list of stops," Ash suggested.

"Fine with me, how about you?" Brock asked.

"Count me in," said Misty.

"Same here," Max replied.

"Pika, pika." Said Pikachu.

After spending the next couple of hours talking, laughing and watching TV around 10pm the group of friends decided to call it a day.

"Night girls," said Brock before closing the door behind him, Ash, Pikachu and Max.

"Good night," Misty and May replied in unison.

"Ouch! I'm ok." Brock said in a meek voice.

His hand had got caught in the doorway.

Misty shook her head and May pinched the bridge of her nose. It was a pretty awkward scenario.

"Hasn't changed a bit."

"Uh… Nope."

Yep… it was going to be a long night…

**MORE TO COME…**

**And that's chapter one… sorry if it seemed sort of dull but chapter 2 will be more interesting. Just to clear up some things, Started writing a story back in 2004 but never finished it decided to do a rewrite but kept different character names and material, that'll be featured in later chapters. Decided to use the currency yen since Johto is based on the Kansai region. Also Japanese cherry trees or Sakura bloom in March in some regions of Japan. The name Cha'risa means elk and Mato means bear, both are Native American names. Train 405 is a reference to the 405 freeway in Southern California. Garden Inn is based on Hilton Garden Inn. The farmers' market in Beach Rose Town is based on The Pike, a large farmers market in Seattle, Washington. Misty's small world line is from the animated series,**_** Duck Dodgers**_**. The title of this story is based on the title of episode 1 from season 3 of the 2010 _Pound Puppies_ animated series. Anyway, chapter 2 will more than likely be up in a week or two.**

**Reviews are appreciated.**


	2. City Limits

**Note: And here's chapter 2… this is where the story gets more interesting… Oh, if this was an episode… this is just a list of who some characters would be voiced by:**

**Pikachu- voiced by: Sean Astin**

**Vulpix-voiced by: Keke Palmer**

**Runner –voiced by: Cedric the Entertainer**

**Tira-voiced by: Janet Hubert**

**Anyway… here's chapter two…**

After a long day of traveling, the small group of friends were exhausted. The next morning, everyone slept in but not for long. Pikachu's ears perked up at the sound of birds singing outside. Letting out a yawn, he stretched and got up.

As he lapped up some water from a bowl near the bed, he glanced at outside.

The young rodent's jaw dropped when he noticed something unusual.

"Pika!"

Ash moaned as he turned over, trying to get up.

"Huh?" Max muttered.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika, pika." The yellow mouse replied, pointing at the window.

"Ok, I'll look." Said Ash.

"Whoa! Guys wake up, you gotta check this out!"

"What Ash?" Brock asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"See for yourself." Ash answered.

"Whoa!" Brock exclaimed.

"How cool is that?" Max asked.

"Very cool," said Ash.

Just then, the door to the other room opened.

"Hey you guys…" Misty started to say.

"Did you see…?" May asked as she Misty walked in, still in their pajamas.

"We sure did." Ash replied.

Looking outside, the ground, trees and several other areas were covered with snow.

"C'mon, let's go." Said Brock.

"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed.

"We'll meet you in the lobby," said Max before the three went off to get ready.

"Oh…" Misty said in a puzzled tone.

"'Kay," was all May could say at the moment.

The two of them then went back to their room.

Later that morning, they had all met up in the hotel lobby, dressed and ready for the day.

"It must've snowed last night." Said Ash.

"That's what I heard," Brock pointed out.

"But it doesn't snow this far south does it?" Ash asked.

"No, not really." Max answered.

"Right, it's just a freak storm; it'll probably melt by tomorrow." Brock explained.

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's go have some fun!" said Ash.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed before the two of them headed out the door.

Misty sighed.

"Never gets old does it?" Brock asked.

"No," the others replied simultaneously.

Once outside, Misty looked around for Ash. He and Pikachu had ran so fast she lost track of them.

"Ash? Where'd you go?" Misty called.

Before she could go any further, Misty felt something hit the back of her head.

"What the…?"

She was then alerted by a 'whistling' noise and turned around, dodging an oncoming snowball.

"Why you…"

(Splat)

Brock was laughing at the site of Misty's hair covered with snow.

"It's not funny, Brock." She said, when she saw him walking over.

"Whatever you say," Brock replied in-between laughs.

"Hey, have you guys seen Max?" May asked once she caught up with Brock.

(Splat)

Once May brushed the snow off her face, it didn't take her long to find out who threw it.

Not too far away were Ash and Max, both of them on the ground laughing.

"Ohh… you are gonna get it!" May growled.

"Come back here!"

Max yelled in fear before running off with his sister not too far behind.

"Should we stop her?" Misty asked.

"And ruin the moment?" Brock joked.

Next thing he knew a snowball hit him right in the face.

Misty snickered, it was pretty funny.

"That's a good look for you, Brock."

Wiping the snow of his face, he glanced at Ash and Pikachu.

"Now it's on!"

"Hey, wait up." Said Misty.

For almost half an hour the five friends threw snowballs at each other… the sound of laughter made it obvious they were enjoying themselves.

"Time out, guys." Ash said after a while.

"All right," Misty sighed.

"Whoo, that was fun." Said May.

"Yeah, though now I'm getting kinda cold." Max admitted.

Although they had on jackets, all of them had been outside for a while now.

"Me too," Ash confessed.

"C'mon, there's a café not far from there that serves some of the best mocha cappuccinos and crepes. Brock suggested.

"Sounds great." Said Ash.

"I think we could go somewhere to thaw out." Misty agreed.

_Moments later…_

"Wow, Brock you were right about this place. I've never had hot chocolate like this before." Said Max.

"Me either, Pikachu seems to like cider." Ash agreed.

Pikachu looked up from the bowl of warm apple cider he had been drinking and smiled.

"Pika!"

"How'd you find out about this, anyway?" May asked.

"There was a booklet of places to go, back in the room and this café was listed as the top coffeehouse in town." Brock answered.

Currently, they were sitting in a small café called The Chateau which judging by the name and décor had French theme to it.

"I can see why," said Misty, who noticed the rather large number of customers and pokémon at the other tables.

"No kidding, this place is a zoo." Ash agreed.

"You got that right." Said Brock.

May finished off the last of her chocolate before she spoke.

"So, what now?"

"I don't know," Misty replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"We can always find out when the next train for Bonitaville leaves." Ash suggested.

"True, if we want to get a head start we better check then head back to the room and pack up." Brock pointed out.

"Probably not a bad idea." Said Ash.

"We should get right on it." Misty agreed.

There was an awkward silence but it didn't last long.

"After we finish these crepes." Said Brock.

He didn't need to ask twice, everyone else agreed. It was obvious nobody wanted to go back out into the snow just yet.

A short time later, they headed towards the Florando train station.

"Ok, there's a train leaving at 10:30 if we head back now, by the time we pack up we'll be able to catch it." Brock explained, as he looked at the schedule.

"Well, in that case…" Ash started.

"Let's go." Misty finished.

"What she said." May and Max said simultaneously.

"Pika, pika." Pikachu agreed.

_Later that day…_

Once they had packed up their belongings, the four friends headed off. As usual, Ash was eager to get going.

"All right, Bonitaville, here we come!" Ash exclaimed, before running off with Pikachu at his side.

"Ash, hold up!" Brock called out.

"Yeah! Wait for us." Said Misty.

"Last one there buys lunch!" Ash called back.

"You're on!" said Max.

"Bring it, guys." May said before going to catch up with the others.

A few minutes later they arrived back at the station.

"We made it." Ash announced.

"Phew!" Misty sighed.

"That's good." May agreed.

"So, where to?"

"Platform twenty-nine, our ride should be here soon." Brock explained as they walked through the crowded train station.

"That's a relief." Said Ash.

"I hear you, it's cold out here." Misty agreed.

Everyone else nearly fell over at hearing this.

"Ya think?!" they said in unison.

_Meanwhile…_

Around this time of the day in Bonitaville, there was heavy traffic in the midtown area. Many people were either on their way to work or school.

Walking along one of the city blocks was a female dog with periwinkle colored fur. She was the size of a German shepherd with black markings similar to that of a Raccoon dog. Her long legs and lean body were like an Ibizan hound.

Stopping in front of a fence, she stuck her snout through a small opening. It wasn't long before she put the rest of her body through it.

Looking around, the three year old female realized she was in someone's backyard.

"Out for a walk?" a voice asked.

The female yelped and stopped in her tracks.

Looking to the left, she spotted a Lucario not much older than her with cobalt blue fur and dark brown eyes, laying on the porch.

"Hi there," he greeted her.

The fur on the back of the female's neck stood on end. Her tail was also stretched out behind her.

"How long have you been there?" she asked.

"Long enough to watch you walk through that gap in the fence." The male replied as he stood up on all four paws.

Feeling nervous, the female Lucario tucked her tail between her legs.

"I was taking a short cut." She said.

The male stretched and sat down on the porch.

"That's fine, it doesn't bother me. I'm surprised your human lets you roam around like this." He confessed.

"I don't have an owner." The female admitted.

The male Lucario tilted his head.

"Is that right? So, you're from the wild." He concluded.

"Yes," the female replied. She now allowed herself to relax.

The other Lucario paused to scratch his right ear.

"Interesting."

The female raised an eyebrow.

"Why? You find that fascinating or something?"

"Not like that, I've just never really known anyone from the wild before. I've lived in the city all my life." The male explained.

There were some noticeable differences between the two of them. The female Lucario's ears were semi pricked and black tipped. The black appendages on the back of her head as well as her spikes were also shorter. Unlike most lucarios who had brown, amber, red or hazel colored eyes, hers were blue.

"So, you're a pet?" she asked, noticing the chocolate brown collar and silver tags around the male's neck.

The blue canine shook his head.

"Not exactly, I'm also a show champion. My human's a breeder, he enters me in competitions."

"Oh… doesn't that get boring?" the female Lucario asked.

"No, not at all. I get to travel a lot, there's always something exciting about being on the road. You should try it sometime." Said the male as he laid back down on the porch with his hind legs stretched out behind him.

"No thanks, I'd rather be free than cooped up in some old house." The female replied.

"It's not as bad as you think." The other Lucario told her.

The female raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Well, for one thing I get three square meals a day and a warm place to sleep at night. I never have to catch anything or sleep outside." The male replied.

"Huh, that's different." Said the female.

"Name's Runner and you are?" the male Lucario asked.

"Tira." Was the reply he got back.

"Nice to meet you, so Tira where's home for you?" Runner continued.

"Cerulean City, when I was a year old I left my parents' den with four of my siblings. We later went our separate ways and… I've been on my own ever since." Tira answered.

Now it all made sense to Runner and explained why Tira came into the yard alone. He knew most lucarios lived in pairs or small packs and only left home when they reached adulthood to start packs of their own. Though many lucarios walked on their hind legs, Runner and Tira stood on all fours.

Runner looked at Tira curiously.

"Really? How did that turn out?" he asked, regarding Tira living on her own.

"Fine, I guess. I've got my own den and no one bothers me." She said.

"Is that so? Well, it sounds like life in the wild isn't so bad." Runner answered.

"It can be tough; I try to avoid people as much as possible. Twice I've had humans chase after me… I'm not a pet, I don't belong to anyone." Tira continued.

"I understand." Said Runner.

After a moment, Tira decided to change the subject.

"About those competitions your owner puts you in… what are they like?"

Runner blinked as he thought about it for a minute.

"It depends, there's different ones. Conformation, agility, frisbee, sledding, herding, weight pulling and racing. Then there's fly ball and search and rescue." He explained.

"Which ones have you done?" Tira asked.

"All of them, except herding and weight pulling." Runner answered.

"That's… impressive." Said Tira.

Runner smiled.

"Thank you."

"I should go before someone sees me." Tira told him as she got up.

"Listen, I'm here for a show this weekend, so I'll be around for a while." Said Runner.

"Oh, all right. It was nice meeting you." Tira replied. It had been a while since she had seen another one of her kind.

Runner's tail slightly wagged.

"Likewise."

"Bye," said Tira.

"See you," Runner barked.

And with that, Tira squeezed through the gap in the fence and left.

Runner's tail stopped wagging.

He sighed.

"Alone again." Runner said to himself, placing his head between his front paws.

Back at the station…

"That train should've been here by now." Said Brock.

"Ye-yeah…I'm freezing." Ash stuttered.

"P-pikachu." Pikachu said as he shivered from the cold.

Just then a horn blared, which quickly alerted everyone.

"Train's here!" said Misty.

"Finally," Max sighed.

Just then a female voice rang out over a loud speaker.

"Attention passengers, boarding for train one-fifteen to Bonitaville will begin in twenty minutes."

Ash and everyone else groaned, sweat dripping down their foreheads.

"Swell," Misty muttered.

Meanwhile, Tira was now in the area outside the city. Although Cerulean City was home to her, she had been living in the Johto region for a while. Before she continued on her way back to the nearby forest, where she lived; Tira stopped at a creek. As she lapped up the cool water, she had no idea that she was being watched.

On the other side of the creek were Stephan and Bianca. The two of them had stopped for a break while traveling to Florando.

Using a pair of binoculars, Stephan checked the area for local wildlife. His jaw dropped at what he saw.

"No way!"

Bianca looked up from her Iphone.

"What is it, Stephan?" she asked.

Putting down his binoculars, he pointed to something across the way.

"Look!"

Bianca gasped.

"A wild Lucario!"

"And it's a female too." Stephan pointed out.

"C'mon, let's get a closer look." Bianca suggested.

"Closer look? Forget that, let's try to capture it." Said Stephan.

Bianca frowned.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked.

"Bianca, think about it. Lucarios are rare pokémon and females are even harder to find, especially in the wild." Stephan answered.

"You have a point. If I capture her, maybe I can train her for a contest." Said Bianca.

"Yeah, there's that big competition coming up in Cerulean City, enter her and you'll win a ribbon for sure." Stephan agreed.

"Maybe… wait, why aren't you interested?" Bianca asked.

"Eh, I really wouldn't know what to do with her, plus I sorta want to find a floatzel." Stephan replied.

"Oh…ok…" said Bianca.

Just then, she noticed Tira was gone.

"Uh, where'd she go?"

"Over there." Stephan said, pointing to a patch of grass near the creek.

"Wow, look at her coat!" Bianca exclaimed.

Tira was currently grooming her face by licking her paws and wiping them on her cheeks and snout.

"I've never seen a lucario with fur like that before. Come to think of it, the ears are different too." Said Stephan.

"All right, that's it. Excuse me, Stephan." Bianca said as she got up.

"Bianca, wait!" Stephan called out.

As she headed towards the creek, Bianca stepped a twig, causing it to 'snap'.

Tira's ears perked up at hearing the noise.

She looked up and saw Bianca and Stephan.

"Oh no, humans." She muttered.

"Here we go again."

Tira quickly stood up on all fours and took off running.

"Aw man." Stephan groaned.

"She's getting away!" Bianca shouted.

"Zebstrika, after that lucario." Said Stephan.

Zebstrika did as he was told and went on ahead of Stephan and Bianca.

"Seriously?" the blond haired trainer asked.

"Well, do you have a better idea?" Stephan answered as they ran across the bridge to the other side.

"Nope," was Bianca's reply.

Tira panted as she ran.

"Oh, for crying out loud." She said to herself, noticing Zebstrika was behind her.

Tira then looked ahead and yelped.

Stopping in her tracks, she saw a rather large rock a few feet away.

"Dead end."

"We got her now," said Bianca as she and Stephan got closer.

Tira growled.

"I really hate to do this." She muttered.

Crouching down, she then leaped over Zebstrika.

Bianca and Stephan stared in shock.

"What?!"

Tira managed to land on her feet and ran off.

"How did she do that?" Bianca asked.

"Well, lucarios are very athletic, I hear they can jump pretty high." Stephan explained.

"That's an understatement." Said Bianca.

"Keep going, Zebstrika." Stephan told him.

The striped equine nodded and went after Tira.

Once again, he was chasing her.

"I gotta lose them, but how?" Tira wondered.

She then spotted a low branch on a tree.

"Perfect!"

Tira jumped and grabbed a hold of the branch.

Zebstrika stopped and looked around, obviously confused.

"Whoa!" Stephan shouted as he came to a stop.

"Oof!" said Bianca as she bumped into Stephan and knocked him into Zebstrika who whinnied in surprise.

Once the three of them got up, they noticed Tira wasn't there.

"She's gone!" Stephan exclaimed.

"Wha…? Where did that lucario go?" Bianca wondered.

"I don't know, I lost track she ran so fast." Said Stephan.

Bianca lowered her head, obviously disappointed.

"Aw, I really wanted to catch her. Oh well."

"So much for that, c'mon let's go." Stephan said before he and Bianca decided to continue on their way.

Bianca noticed Zebstrika trailing behind.

"Zebstrika, we're going." She called.

Zebstrika snorted in reply and followed Stephan and Bianca.

Tira watched them for a moment; once they were gone, she relaxed.

"Phew! That was close."

She then got up and slowly climbed down the tree. Once back on the ground, Tira decided to leave.

"I'm out of here."

And with that, she made her exit.

_Back in Florando…  
_

"Finally, they started boarding." Said Ash.

"Yeah, I was getting frostbite for a minute." May admitted.

After finding their assigned seats, Ash and friends were glad to finally sit down and be out of the freezing cold.

"Well, it's smooth sailing from here." Said Brock.

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Pikachu," said the mouse Pokémon.

Vulpix let out a friendly bark. She had been let out to stretch her legs some time ago and was glad to be able check out her surroundings.

"What do you think they're saying?" Max asked.

"Must be excited about the trip." Ash replied.

"Maybe." said Misty.

Both Pikachu and Vulpix were currently looking out a nearby window. Outside, the snow and ice had started to melt. White patches of it could still be seen throughout the landscape on trees, shrubs and the ground.

"Nice view," said Pikachu.

"Sure is," Vulpix agreed.

Neither of their trainers or human friends could understand them. To Ash, Brock and everyone else, the conversation sounded like a bunch of squeaks and barks.

Vulpix looked away from the window for a moment.

"So, you excited?" she asked.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Pikachu replied.

Vulpix tilted her head.

"Huh?"

"I'm kidding, Vulpix but yes I've really excited." Pikachu said with a smile.

"That's cool… still…" Vulpix paused and went back to looking out the window at the countryside.

"I don't know, this trip seems different than the others we've been on."

"Eh, I wouldn't say that, the last few weeks have been an adventure." Said Pikachu.

"I suppose you're right." Vulpix admitted.

She had to agree that they had some good times traveling through the different towns and cities.

"Besides, we haven't been to Bonitaville in a long time." Pikachu pointed out.

Vulpix nodded.

"I heard from a starly back in Florando that a lot has changed since our last visit." She explained.

Pikachu raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I guess we'll have to find out."

"Yeah," said Vulpix.

Brock was alerted by a low buzzing noise.

Pulling his cellphone out of his pocket, he looked at the screen. He got the droid phone about a month ago which came in handy at times.

"What is it, Brock?" Misty asked.

"Oh, just a text message, I'll check it out later… I'm sure it's no big deal." Said Brock.

He then placed the phone back in his pocket. Had Brock checked his inbox the text he received was from Professor Oak.

Three hours on a train and miles to go… no problem, right?

**MORE TO COME…**

**And that's it for chapter 2... And now some commentary… the freak snow storm was based on something that actually happened in Vegas back in 2008. Hadn't planned on putting Stephan and Bianca in the story at first but decided to add them, they have more scenes in later chapters. As for names Tira is the alternate spelling of the Scottish name Tyra which means "land", Runner is the name of a real dog.**

Janet Hubert played Vivian Banks in Fresh Prince of Bel-air, Keke Palmer played Akeelah in the movie, Akeelah and the Bee and had a TV series on Nickelodeon called True Jackson VP. Sean Astin did the voice of Randall P. McDuff in the cartoon network TV movie Party Wagon and Kodi in Balto 3: Wings of Change. Cedric the Entertainer has also done the voice of various characters including Carl the Rhino in Ice Age, Bobby Proud in The Proud family and played Cedric Jackie Robinson in the 1990s The Steve Harvey show. Don't know what Raccoon dogs and Ibizan hounds look like?

Try looking them up on Google. The Chateau café is loosely based on Le Pannier which is a coffeehouse and bakery in Seattle at the Pike market. Some of Runner's and Tira's lines are from the movies Cats & Dogs and Lady and the Tramp 2: Scamp's Adventure. Also some dogs have rear dew claws which are located on the back paws. Certain breeds such as the Kai-Ken from Japan climb trees. Young grey wolves also leave their parents' pack to start their own or join another established wolf pack. More on canine behavior later. If it seems like there's some loose ends in the story, many will be explained in chapter 3. Sorry for any typos that might've been missed. Chapter 3 will be posted in a week or two. The Golden Globes air tomorrow night… will be watching to see who wins.

**Ciao y'all!**


	3. Let's Be Honest

**And…the story continues… here's chapter 3… this is basically part of a prologue for the big turning point that's coming soon.**

**New characters:**

**Lenny- voiced by: Richard Karn**

**Truc-voiced by: Will Fredle**

**Bobby- voiced by: Tom Kenny**

**Stevie- voiced by: Don Rickles**

**Sorry for the wait, was out sick…anyway… on with the story.**

After about three hours, the train came to a stop in Bonitaville. By now, it was mid-afternoon. Unlike the freezing cold and snow in Florando, the weather here was warmer. For Ash and his friends, it was great to be able to get up and stretch their legs.

"All right!" Max exclaimed as he stepped off the train and onto the platform.

Ash got off next, followed by Brock and Misty.

"We're finally here." Said Ash.

"Yeah, and away from that snow." Brock added as he took off his jacket.

"I suppose our first stop will be the Pokémon center, right?" Misty asked.

"Right, c'mon." said Brock.

May, who had trailed behind to tie her shoe, got off the train. She looked around for her friends but didn't see them anywhere.

"Huh? Hey, where'd they go?" she wondered.

Just then, Brock's voice rang out.

"Over here, May!"

Looking to the right, she spotted Brock and the others standing near an exit sign.

"Oh, there you are." She said, glad to have found them.

"Let's go." Said Brock.

Once they regrouped, the five of them headed off towards the Pokémon center.

Meanwhile back on the outskirts of Bonitaville, Tira attempted to put some distance between herself and Stephan and Bianca. Although she had gone the opposite direction, the last thing she wanted was for those two to chase her again.

While Tira didn't necessarily dislike humans, the thought of having an owner bothered her. She had lived in the wild her entire life and enjoyed her freedom. Although Tira had watched people from a distance, she had no idea what living with them was like; apart from what Runner and a furret back in the city had told her. The female lucario looked back once in a while, checking to see if anyone was following her. Seeing that she was alone, Tira relaxed.

"At least I'm away from those kids." She said to herself.

Tira's ears perked up at the sound of leaves rustling.

Sniffing the air, she quickly recognized the scent and decided to investigate. She walked through some tall grass and saw in a clearing, some unfezants. The flock was made up of four females and two males. While the others had the typical markings of most unfezants, there were two that stood out. One male had blue and gray feathers and one of the females was gray with tan colored markings. It was obvious these two were shiny. All six birds were busy eating grass seeds, completely unaware of the large canine watching them. Lifting her left front paw, Tira stood in a position much like that of an English Pointer. She snarled and started running. Shortly after, the unfezants took off in different directions, squawking loudly as Tira chased them.

Back in Bonitaville, Ash and the others were settling in at the local Pokémon center.

The young trainer groaned as he collapsed into a lounge chair.

"I'm exhausted."

Pikachu sat down next to Ash's backpack panting heavily.

"So are we," said Misty who was leaning against the wall along with May.

"After a day like today, I think we all deserve a nice br…" before Brock could finish his sentence, he heard the familiar low buzz from his droid phone.

"What's that?" Max asked.

Brock pulled the phone out of his vest pocket and looked at the screen.

"Looks like the inbox is full, better clean it out." He said.

After pressing a couple buttons, he came across an unread message.

"Huh, would you look at that. I got a text from Professor Oak."

At hearing this, Ash and Pikachu quickly sat up.

"What's it say?" he asked.

"Not much… just says… 'Urgent, please call me.'" Brock explained.

"Let's find out what's going on."

A moment later, the five of them sat around near the video phone and waited.

"Ok, it's ringing" Brock said, after dialing Professor Oak's number.

After about two minutes, Max broke the silence.

"Maybe he's not home."

The sound of static could be heard but only for a few seconds.

"Hello? Anyone there?" a voice called.

"We're here Professor Oak," said Ash.

"Hello, Ash. How are you doing?" Professor Oak asked.

"Fine and you?" Ash answered.

"Just great, I recognized the number from Johto." Professor Oak explained.

"It was me who called, Professor." Said Brock, who stood next to Ash.

"Oh, Brock you got my text." Professor Oak continued.

"Yes," was Brock's reply.

"Good, I've been waiting for your call, there's something I wanted to tell you. Everyone listening?" said Professor Oak.

Ash and the others slightly leaned forward, eager to hear what he had to say.

"We're all ears." Ash replied.

"Ok then, earlier today I received a call from two trainers in Florando… they said they couldn't get a hold of the professor in the Johto region so they contacted me." Professor Oak explained.

May raised an eyebrow; she was sort of confused about this.

"What for?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ash chimed in.

Professor Oak scratched his head, trying to get his thoughts together.

"Apparently, they stopped for a break and saw a lucario."

At that moment, Ash and the others nearly fell over, their mouths hanging wide open.

"What?!"

"No way!" Ash exclaimed.

He was just as shocked as everyone else.

"Yes, it was a female too. The trainers who called me said they were friends of yours, one of them was… Steph something and the other was Blanca." Professor Oak continued.

It didn't take long for Ash to figure out who Professor Oak was talking about.

"Stephan and Bianca?"

"That's right… anyway; they decided to report what they saw; which is why they contacted me." Said Professor Oak.

He too was surprised when Stephan and Bianca had called to report what they saw.

"Wow… a wild lucario." Ash said, obviously still in shock.

"And it was a female, how strange is that?" Misty added.

"For this region, I'd say so." Said Brock.

He then looked towards the screen.

"Professor Oak, I thought lucarios only lived in the Sinnoh region."

"Well, yes that is true, Brock. A large number do live there but you see, before lucarios were considered rare, their population was much larger and more widespread than it is now. Females in particular are difficult to find and study in the wild." Professor Oak explained.

Ash frowned at this.

"But why are they so rare?"

"I'd have to do some research on that. Professor Birch might be able to explain. He is after all, an expert on pokemon habitats… he's up in the mountains right now but I'll call him just as soon as he gets back." Professor Oak offered.

"Great," Ash replied.

"Thanks." Said Brock.

Just then Ash thought about something.

"So, wait lucarios can be found in other regions outside of Sinnoh?"

"Most likely, keep in mind they are in the canine family and live in small groups or pairs. Some packs can have territory that's several miles out." Professor Oak answered.

Ash blinked, obviously surprised.

"Really?"

Professor Oak nodded.

"You'd be surprised. Anyway, Stephan left me his number if you'd like to call him."

Ash smiled, he was curious about what Stephan and Bianca had seen; the two would more than likely fill him and everyone else in on the details.

"I'll be sure to do just that. Thanks, Professor Oak"

Professor Oak smiled back.

"Anytime,"

"Tell my mom I said hi." Ash continued.

"Will do, bye now." Said Professor Oak.

Ash and his friends said their good byes before hanging up.

"So, I guess we'll give Stephan and Bianca a ring." Brock said after a moment.

Just then, he was alerted by a faint growling noise.

Ash looked at his friends nervously.

"After lunch."

"Sure thing." Said Brock.

While the group of friends went off to take a lunch break, outside of Bonitaville, Tira had made her way back to the forest she called home. Walking along a trail lined with Japanese beech trees, she was carrying a female unfezant she had caught earlier that day.

"These feathers are the pits." Tira muttered.

"Hey there," a voice greeted her.

Tira stopped and put the unfezant down. She looked around and spotted a male linoone standing outside of his burrow.

"Oh, it's only you Lenny."

"What were you expecting? A bebarel?" the cream colored badger joked.

He rolled over on his back, laughing.

Lenny was a resident in the forest, he and Tira met sometime after she and her siblings had gone their separate ways. He looked like a typical linoone, cream colored fur with hazelnut brown stripes and blue eyes with the exception of the brown patch on his right hind leg.

"Very funny." Tira said in a dull tone.

Once Lenny got himself together he noticed the unfezant on the ground.

"That's quite a catch you got there."

"All the more reason why I don't chase birds very often. They're hard to catch." Said Tira.

Her diet mostly consisted of meat; which included fish, small mammals and birds. Ever since she was a pup, Tira always had a difficult time catching birds which was why she only went after them if no other food source was available. Aside from meat, she occasionally ate berries and grass.

"Well, there is a thing called fast food." Lenny pointed out.

"Yes," said Tira.

She shook herself for a moment.

"Look, as much as I'd like to sit here and chat, I need to clean up around here… the in-laws are coming for a visit. You know how that is." Lenny continued.

"I understand…" said Tira.

"Oh, one more thing, watch your back… I heard from Sadie that Team Rocket has been snooping around here." Lenny warned.

Sadie was a swellow who lived in a konara oak tree near Tira's den. Whenever she noticed something unusual in the forest, Sadie often reported it to the other residents.

Tira froze. She had only heard of Team Rocket from her parents. Back then, she and her siblings were Riolu puppies. Tira was one of a litter of eight, consisting of four females and four males. She was in the middle. So far, Tira hadn't seen anyone who worked for Team Rocket. Most of the people she ran into were trainers or hikers.

"Thanks for the heads up but relax, Lenny I've never been caught." Said Tira.

"You know that and I know that, as do our friends and neighbors… let me ask you something, have you seen any other female lucarios around here?" Lenny asked.

"No." Tira replied.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen another one of her kind in a while, apart from Runner.

"Well, there you are then." Lenny concluded.

"Anyway… I should probably get going… tell Neera I said hi." Said Tira.

"Sure thing, bye now." Lenny replied.

"Yeah, see you." Tira answered.

Picking up the unfezant, she continued on her way. It wasn't long before Tira reached her den. The exterior was a large hole that been dug out underneath a tree that sat on a small incline. While it looked small on the outside, the interior was just the opposite. Although Tira lived alone, her den was large enough to accommodate two adults and a litter of pups. She and two of her brothers and one of sisters, had set off on their own when they were all a year old. Three months after leaving their parents' home in Cerulean city, the four lucarios split up.

Her brothers left for the northern region of Kanto and her sister headed off towards Beach Rose town. Now three years old, Tira assumed her siblings all had pups or started a pack by now. She left and moved to the Johto region to start her own pack but so far, Runner was the only other lucario she had met and he had an owner. Snapping out of her thought, Tira settled down outside her den on a large flat rock. After plucking the feathers off the unfezant, she took a bite. It had been a while since she had eaten something.

Tira was then alerted by a squawk and looked up. Flying overhead were two starraptors. She knew them, they was the leader of a large flock that lived in another part of the forest. Tira watched him for a moment before she went back to her meal.

_Back in the city…_

"That was great," said Max.

"I'll say, Brock, I almost forgot what your cooking was like." Misty agreed.

The group of friends had finished having lunch, beef yakisoba bowls with edamame.

Brock smiled.

"Thanks,"

"What's your secret?" May asked.

"Let's just say I put my foot in it." Brock answered.

"I thought that was a toe nail." Ash joked.

Everyone else laughed.

"Ok, very funny. How 'bout we give Stephan and Bianca a call?" Brock suggested.

"Yeah," said Ash.

A short time later, Brock dialed Stephan's number.

The phone rang for a moment before the call went through.

"Hello?"

"Hey Stephan," Ash greeted him.

"Hi Ash, what's up?" said Stephan.

"I talked with Professor Oak half an hour ago, he said you called." Ash explained.

"Yeah, me and Bianca contacted him about… hey!"

Before Stephan could even finish, he noticed someone grabbing a hold of his Iphone.

"Let me see that." Said Bianca, she pushed a button, and handed the phone back to Stephan.

"You still there, Ash?" Bianca asked, having turned on the speaker.

"Still here," was the reply she got back.

"Good, anyway… we reported the lucario we saw to Professor Oak…" Bianca explained.

"So I heard, did you catch it?" Ash asked.

Bianca and Stephan looked at each and sighed.

"No, it got away." Bianca answered.

"We only saw it once and that dog is fast." Said Stephan.

"Yes," Bianca agreed.

"Where were you when you saw it?" Misty asked.

"Outside Bonitaville, we were on our way to Florando. Apparently there's some forest not far from the city." Stephan replied.

"It's probably where that lucario lives." Bianca concluded.

Ash froze for a moment.

"Really? I'm in Bonitaville right now with a few friends, maybe we'll see her."

"I doubt it, Ash." Said Stephan.

"It's a big forest." Bianca pointed out.

"Lots of places for it to hide." Stephan added.

"But you can try…"

Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"Eh, it's ok… I still can't believe you saw a wild lucario."

"Neither can we, I don't get why they're so hard to find." Said Bianca.

"Well, I heard a lot of 'em were caught years ago and the population hasn't recovered since then… but I could be wrong." Stephan explained.

"Got 'cha. Thanks Stephan." Said Ash.

"No problem… listen I got to get goin' Bianca and I are in town for the regional competition. Last day to sign up." Stephan continued.

Ash raised an eyebrow

"But the regional isn't for another month, right?"

"Right… but they aren't accepting any more entries after today." Stephan replied.

"Oh…ok." Was all Ash could say.

The only person he knew that had entered the regional competition was Dawn. It was a contest type event held twice a year in the Johto region.

"Talk to you later." Said Stephan.

"Bye," said Bianca.

After everyone said their goodbyes, Ash hung up.

_That afternoon…_

"So, what now?" Misty asked, walking out of the pokemon center.

"Want to check out the museum? I hear they added on to their mineral and rock exhibit." Brock suggested.

Max pushed up his glasses which had been sliding off his nose.

"Sounds cool,"

"Yeah, it's check it out." Said Ash.

They all left the pokemon center and headed towards the natural history museum in the main part of the city.

Meanwhile on the rooftop of a nearby apartment building were three familiar figures.

"This is perfect, you can see the whole city from up here. Not bad, huh?" Said Jessie.

From where she stood several tall buildings and the rooftops of other apartments could be seen. It was a clear and sunny day; make this spot the ideal place for people and pokemon watching.

Jessie turned around when she didn't hear a reply from her teammates. Sitting in a corner was Meowth and James, both of them asleep and snoring loudly.

"Hey, you two!" Jessie yelled.

James and Meowth instantly woke up.

"Aah!"

"Jess, please give us a break." Meowth groaned as he rubbed one of his eyes with the back of his left paw.

"Yes, we're exhausted. I had another nightmare about that shiny sawsbuck stag that chased us, two days ago." James said before he yawned.

"Well, I didn't get any sleep either because of your snoring." Jessie admitted.

James quickly stood up looking at his teammate angrily.

"What? That's a lie! I don't snore." He said.

"Actually, you kinda do." Meowth confessed.

James scratched his head for a moment.

"Whatever happened to those noise canceling headphones?"

"We lost them somewhere between Kanto and here. Remember that waterfall and the kayak? it…" Jessie was quickly cut off.

"Stop right there, that never happened!" James exclaimed.

He didn't want to go into detail about the time they had gone over a waterfall in a kayak and ran into a shoal of basculin when they got downstream.

Jessie and Meowth looked at each other, obviously confused and nervous at the same time.

"Uh… sure…" Jessie replied.

"Whatever," said Meowth.

Just then, the three of them heard a familiar voice.

"Ash, can you wait up for once?" Misty called.

"You hear that?" Jessie asked.

James smiled.

"I sure did, c'mon."

The three of them headed over to the edge of the roof and eavesdropped.

"I can't believe Stephan and Bianca saw a lucario and they didn't even catch it." Said Ash.

"Well, they are fast like Stephan said." Brock pointed out.

"That's true, still it'd be awesome to explore that forest." Ash replied.

"Yeah," Max agreed.

After watching them for a moment, Jessie and James looked at each other, both of them smiling.

"So, that's it. There's a lucario that lives in some nearby forest." Jessie concluded.

"And the twerps' friends have seen it but … they didn't capture it?" James said in a puzzled tone.

"Maybe it got away," Meowth suggested.

"Well, if that's the case…" Jessie started to say.

"It's still out there!" James finished.

"What are we standing around here for?" Jessie asked.

"Let's go find that lucario!" said Meowth.

He and Jessie quickly headed for the fire escape on the side of the building.

"Wait! Remember the sawsbuck episode?" James asked.

Jessie and Meowth stopped in their tracks.

"Oh…" Jessie sighed.

"Right." Said Meowth.

Just then, Jessie had an idea.

"Maybe we should sit down and come up with a plan…" she suggested.

"Over some coffee?" James asked.

Jessie thought about it for a moment.

"All right, a quick cup of coffee, then we'll do a stakeout of that forest." Said Jessie.

"Right," James and Meowth said simultaneously.

_The next day… _

Fore the most part, those who worked regular nine to five jobs, slept in on Saturdays. Kids were usually preoccupied watching cartoons. Tira enjoyed mornings like this. She had got up early and went to a part of the forest on the other side of the river. This area was closer to the mountains and a hiking trail that went for about five miles before ending near a road that went into the city.

Tira walked along the trail, the soft dark brown soil felt good beneath her paws. After a few minutes she stopped at an overlook. This particular spot was one of her favorites due to the view of the forest. The tops of cedars, pines, cypress, oaks, fir and Japanese maple trees could be seen as well as the nearby river and lake. It was also a great spot to watch the sunrise in the morning and the sunset in the evening. At night, the moon, stars and certain planets could also been seen.

(For this part of the story, recommend listening to Dreams by The Rippingtons. It can be found on YouTube, it's a really nice track and seemed to fit with this scene)

Sitting on a patch of moss, Tira watched as the sky went from black to blue as the sun rose higher. The clouds overhead were various shades of pink and purple. Just then, Tira was quickly alerted by a loud yet familiar screech. A braviary with dark red feathers flew by. Wings fully spread; the large bird soared over the conifer trees below. Tira had seen him before. She knew these birds often roosted on cliffs in the mountains and only came down to the forest for food. While the view was pleasant, Tira came up here for a different reason. Getting up on all fours, she looked at the view of the forest below. Lifting her head, Tira let out a loud wolf-like howl. She paused and listened. All she could hear were birds singing. The black and blue wild dog tried again. The sound of her howling echoed throughout the landscape.

Tira lowered her ears, looking disappointed.

She sighed and sat down.

'Nothing…' she thought.

'Sadie was right; I'm the only one here.'

Ever since she moved to the forest, Tira had been hoping to find a mate, after two years of trying, she hadn't been able to locate a male lucario. She had asked the different pokemon including Sadie the swellow if they had seen other lucarios like her, but they said her kind hadn't lived in the forest for ages. Despite that, Tira attempted to prove they were wrong but now she realized Sadie and her neighbors had been right all long. Tira had considered going back to Cerulean City but having lived in Johto for so long, she decided she'd try to make the best of it here.

After a minute, Tira got up and left. Howling was one way her kind communicated, in addition to barks, whines and yelps, like other canine pokemon. By the time Tira left the overlook, the other forest residents were up and going about their day. She went down to the river to get a drink of water. While there, she noticed a basculin and went after it. After a couple of tries, Tira caught it. A male leafeon, who had been watching, trotted over for a closer look. The only differences between him and other leafeons were his dark brown paws and emerald green markings.

"Hey, nice catch." He said.

Before Tira could react, the leafeon grabbed the fish.

"Too bad it's the one that got away." The leafeon said in a muffled voice due to the basculin in his mouth.

He was about to run off when he felt something holding him down.

The beige colored fox turned around and saw Tira's left paw firmly pressed onto the tip of his tail.

"Drop it," said Tira.

The leafeon gulped nervously.

"Yes, ma'am."

He then put the fish down.

"S-sorry." He stuttered, tucking his tail between his legs.

"Just don't do that again, all right?" said Tira.

"I promise…" the leafeon replied.

Just then, he noticed something.

"Hey, I've heard of you, you're that lucario that lives around here."

"Yes, I'm Tira." Tira replied.

"My name's Truc." Said the leafeon.

"Sorry about the fish… I'm new to these parts and I've never been good at catching anything." Truc explained.

"I understand…where are you from?" Tira asked as she sat down.

"I used to live in Bloomingvale but came here 'cause my cousins live in this forest. Also, I was hoping a human would take me in." Truc explained.

Tira frowned.

"But, you're wild, why would you want to spend the rest of your life living with people?" she asked.

"I'm actually feral; I was left in a cardboard box on a street corner when my five sisters and I were eevee pups. I was the last one left in the box, nobody wanted me so I've been on my own for a year now." Truc answered.

"Sorry to hear that… I know what's like to be alone. I left home when I was your age." Tira confessed.

"To start your own pack, correct?" Truc asked.

Tira nodded.

"So, where's your mate?" Truc continued.

Tira lowered her head.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Truc apologized.

"You didn't know, we just met." Tira pointed out.

"All right, subject change… where's the nearest town?" Truc asked.

"Bonitaville's not far from here. I have a… friend who lives in the city… if you need help getting there…" Tira stopped short.

"Oh, I sure would appreciate it." Said Truc.

Tira shrugged her shoulders.

"Eh, why not?"

"Thank you!" Truc exclaimed. He then hugged Tira.

"Uh…Truc, personal space." Said Tira.

The male leafeon chuckled nervously.

"Sorry,"

He then loosened his grip.

Using her sharp canine teeth, Tira took a bite out of the fish.

After swallowing a good size chuck, she looked at Truc.

"You know, this basculin is bigger than I thought."

Truc tilted his head.

"Yeah, so?"

"Want to help me out with this?" Tira asked.

Truc smiled and wagged his tail.

_Later…_

Once they left the river, the two headed towards Bonitaville; walking along the tree lined trail. During that time, they talked.

"I still don't get it, I tried to run off with your catch and you decided to share it?" Truc asked.

"Well, you did apologize and I know a thing or two about what it's like to be alone and starving." Tira answered.

"Uh…huh…" Truc said in a confused tone.

"So, this Runner guy. He sounds nice."

"He is." Said Tira.

"But, if he's another one of your species…then…why…?" Tira cut Truc off.

"I just met him and he has an owner."

"So what?" Truc asked.

"Truc, I'm from the wild, Runner isn't." Tira answered.

"I got that part but still…" Truc trailed off.

"You're feral, you wouldn't understand." Said Tira.

"I may have lived with people once but I've been on my own too." Truc insisted.

Although he had only been feral for a year, he had spent enough time around wild and stray pokemon to know what life in the wild was like.

"Look, Truc, I'll be honest… I just… don't want to be tied down. That's all." Tira confessed.

She stopped for a moment.

"Seriously, do I look like a pet?" she asked.

"Well, you could be." Truc answered.

Tira slightly raised her hackles, the fur on the back of her head sticking up.

"Forget I said that," Truc replied sheepishly.

Tira slightly towered over him in height and weighed more than he did. Truc was well aware a dog like her could easily knock him flat to the ground.

"Just one thing…" he said, trying to change the subject.

"What's that?" Tira asked.

"You walk on all fours, I heard lucarios stand on two." Truc replied.

"Yes but, this is how I walk. It's always been that way. My pack does that, we only stand on our hind legs when necessary." Tira explained.

"Noted…" said Truc.

He stopped and sniffed the air.

Tail tucked between his legs and ears flat against his head. Truc looked at Tira feeling uneasy.

"Is there another path we can take?" he asked.

"Uh…sure… this way." Said Tira who quickly turned right.

She and Truc were now behind a large red cedar tree.

"What did you smell?" Tira asked.

"People… like those clowns from Team Rocket." Truc answered.

"I heard about them, are they really that bad?" Tira continued.

Truc lowered his head.

"You have no idea."

Tira flinched.

"Yikes."

_Later… _

The two of them arrived at the outskirts of the city, not far away was Bonitaville.

"Well, this is it. Come 'on, I know a short cut through the rose garden." Said Tira.

Moments later they reached the rose garden outside the natural history museum.

Truc looked around for a moment.

He could see several native plants and trees as well as dozens of rose bushes.

"It's a garden all right" he said before letting out a loud sneeze.

"Sorry, I'm not used to being around so many flowers."

Tira stopped and turned around.

"This is coming from a leafeon."

"I know, weird. But I've always had seasonal allergies." Said Truc.

He sniffled, wiping his nose with his right paw.

"Just how big is this garden?"

"A couple acres, there's a large sakura tree right in the center. You should see this place in the spring, it's amazing." Said Tira.

"Sounds like it." Truc replied.

He had to admit, the garden was pleasant, around him were roses in various shades of pink, red, orange and yellow. Currently, he and Tira were walking through a row of white rose bushes.

Just then, their ears perked up at the sound of someone talking.

"Thanks for letting me tag along, Professor Juniper."

The voice sounded like a girl.

"Oh no, people. Let's move." Said Tira.

"Why?" Truc asked.

"C'mon!" Tira sputtered before grabbing his tail and hiding behind some ferns.

"Glad I could help," said Professor Juniper.

"Ever since my brother Gary left town, I've been looking for something to do." Daisy explained as she and Professor Juniper walked through the rose garden.

"And coming to the Johto region seemed like a good idea?" Professor Juniper asked.

"At the time, yes. When my Grandpa told me you were Bonitaville doing a presentation at the museum… I came here as soon as I could." Daisy explained.

Professor Juniper smiled.

"Well, you came to the right place. Your grandfather's an old friend of mine. I do what I can to help him out."

Daisy smiled back.

"That's nice, so in this case…?"

"Giving you the job as my assistant qualifies." Professor Juniper replied.

Daisy looked down for a moment, noticing something on the path.

"What's that?"

She and Professor Juniper got down on their knees for a closer look.

"They're paw prints. Looks like some pokemon walked through here." Said the Professor.

Although she mainly worked in the Unova region, Professor Juniper had been studying pokemon long enough to recognize different ones just by looking at footprints.

"One of them is obviously a leafeon and this is from some other canine." She said.

There was a major size difference in the paw prints. One was smaller with the toes slightly spreading out and long claw marks. The second set of prints were larger, the toes weren't spread out nearly as far and the claw marks were more noticeable.

"I've never seen a print like this." Said Daisy.

"It looks like a lucario paw print." Professor Juniper concluded.

"But weren't they wiped out in this region?" Daisy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, though I have heard that there's a female who lives outside of town but I don't know for sure." Professor Juniper answered.

"Oh," was all Daisy could say before getting up.

Pulling her iPhone out of her lab coat pocket, Professor Juniper snapped a photo of the paw prints.

"I'll send this to Professor Oak later; right now we need to finish that PowerPoint presentation."

"Right." Said Daisy, before she followed Professor Juniper back to the main building.

"Are they gone?" Tira asked.

"Yes," Truc answered.

He stepped out of their hiding place followed by Tira.

"Do you really hate people that much?" he asked.

"It's not that I don't hate them, I just don't want to be kept on a leash." Tira explained.

"I understand, you grew up in the wild but those two seemed really nice. Professors like that one study us." Said Truc.

"I know, my mother told me about them, they try to help." Tira replied.

"Exactly, did you see that girl? That's the kind of human I'd like to have as my owner." Truc admitted.

He then noticed a sign near a bench with the sentence, Caution: Wet Paint written on it.

The leafeon grinned.

"I think I got a plan."

_A few minutes later…_

"How's this?" Tira asked.

"Not bad, it'll work. I can read it." Truc answered.

He found some left over poster board, a can of black paint and a brush not far from the bench.

After a moment of trial and error, Truc and Tira managed to make a sign.

Tira was puzzled at Truc's reply.

"You can?"

"Yep," he said.

"Wha…but…how?" Tira sputtered.

"My Mom… and a raichu I used to know in Bloomingvale taught me to write. His human's a college professor." Truc explained.

"Wait, you can't read?" he asked.

Tira put down the paint brush and looked at her paws as if embarrassed.

"Just, a few things. When you live in the wild, it's not exactly something you learn." She said.

"So, I see." Truc replied.

After walking up the stairs to the museum entrance, Truc scratched the door.

"Hmm… nobody at the door." He said.

Just then, he and Tira heard someone coming.

"That's it, I'm gone!" Tira told him before running off.

"Tira, wait!" Truc barked.

"Hey you, runt what are you doing here?" said a male voice.

Before Truc could do anything, he felt someone picking him by the scruff of his neck. The person was about 5'6 with scruffy brown hair, a light skin tone and brown eyes. He turned out to be the janitor.

"What's going on out here?" Professor Juniper asked as she stepped outside.

"Oh, sorry Professor, I found this leafeon up on these stairs, I'll just take him to the pound." The Janitor offered.

"No, wait!" Daisy called out as she ran up to Professor Juniper.

"Look, it's a note."

"What's it say?" Professor Juniper asked.

Daisy picked up the small piece of poster board and read it.

"My name is Truc, I've been on my own for over a year, I have no place to go, can you help me out?"

Despite being held by the scruff of his neck, Truc slightly wagged his tail.

"Aw, poor guy." Said Daisy.

"I'll let you two work this out." The Janitor replied, he handed Truc to Daisy and left.

"What do you think, Professor?" she asked.

Professor Juniper laughed.

"I think he's made up his mind." She answered.

Daisy giggled as Truc licked her face.

"I guess you're right."

She rubbed Truc behind his ears before putting him down.

"All right, I'll keep him."

"C'mon Truc."

The male leafeon yapped in reply and followed Professor Juniper and Daisy into the museum.

Tira watched from behind a bush and sighed.

Shortly after that, she decided to make her exit.

_Later that day…_

While most people were out with family and friends on the weekends, there were those that chose to kick back at home.

Runner was asleep on the porch, it had been a long day and all he wanted to do at the moment was rest.

His ears perked up when he heard a faint rustling in the yard. The black and blue canine, slowly opened his eyes.

"Oh, hey." He said in a drowsy tone as he sat up.

"Hey yourself," Tira replied.

"So, how's it going?"

"Fine… I won another blue ribbon." Runner announced.

"That's…great, how many of those have you won, anyway?" Tira asked.

"Come 'on, I'll show you." Runner offered.

"Um…ok," said Tira.

She followed him into the house via dog door.

Once inside, Tira looked around the room.

"This is…nice."

"Thanks," said Runner.

He then noticed Tira seemed to be uneasy.

"Something wrong?"

"Well…I'm… I'm so used being outside. I've never walked on a hardwood floor before." Tira confessed.

"I see… but it's not so bad. Try it." Runner insisted.

"All right," Tira sighed.

She took a few steps forward before she slipped.

Tira yelped and hit the floor.

Runner lowered his ears, obviously embarrassed.

"Sorry, the floor was mopped recently."

Tira slowly stood up.

"It's fine, I'll be ok."

She shook herself, feeling somewhat better.

Tira and Runner were currently in the living room.

Near the fire place, Tira noticed some shelves with several photos, trophies and ribbons on display.

Runner turned around, noticing she had trailed behind.

"That's my wall of fame." He said.

Tira looked away for a moment.

"You mean, you won all these awards?" she asked.

"Yes, since I was a pup." Runner answered.

"Impressive," was all Tira could say.

"Come 'on, I'll show you the rest of the house." Said Runner as he made his way to the stairs.

"Are you sure it's ok?" Tira asked.

She had never been in a house before and wasn't sure about it.

"Yes, my human's gone to the farmers' market, he won't be back for at least an hour." Runner explained.

"All right, then." Said Tira before she followed Runner up the stairs.

For the half hour, Runner gave Tira a tour of the two story house. Aside from things she had heard from her parents and friends, Tira didn't know much about what the inside of a house looked like.

The décor was similar to a lodge, aside from the leather couch and chairs in the living room.

"So, what do you think?" Runner asked as he made his way down the stairs, following Tira.

"It's very nice," she answered before going through the dog door and back out to the yard.

"Ya know, Tira…" Runner said as he stepped outside.

"You never told me why you moved here."

Tira froze, hackles raised, fur standing on end.

"I've… well… you see…" she sputtered.

"You decided to start your own pack?" Runner asked as he sat down next to Tira.

The female wild dog knew she couldn't hide it and decided to confess.

"I did but… my friends and neighbors back in the forest said there aren't any lucarios left in Johto. I tried to prove them wrong but…" Tira paused and sighed.

"Now I'm starting to believe they were right."

Runner lowered his ears.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." He said.

"Truth is… you're the first lucario I've seen in a long time." Tira admitted.

"And, you're different than other males I've met."

Runner was surprised to hear this.

"Like how?"

"Well, a lot of males I've ran into are sometimes aggressive or territorial. Course, they were from other packs or loners. This was back when I lived in Kanto." Tira explained.

"Oh, what about your siblings? Did you have any brothers?" Runner asked.

"Yes, four and three sisters…what about you?" Tira answered.

Runner lowered his ears and pulled his tail closer to his body.

"I… don't have any brothers or sisters." He said.

Tira tilted her head, obviously puzzled.

"You don't?"

"No, you see… my family is known for having small litters; usually just one or two pups. You obviously come from a large pack." Runner replied.

"Well, I suppose when you consider twelve of us in one territory that's a pretty good size pack." Tira agreed.

Her pack back in Kanto had consisted of she and her siblings, her parents, her aunt and a cousin.

"I'd say so." Said Runner.

"I guess you don't live in a pack?" Tira concluded.

"Not really, domestic lucarios are different. We're raised and trained for work or kept as pets. By the time I was six months old, I was sold. I've been entered in shows ever since." Runner explained.

"Do you miss being with your own kind?" Tira asked.

Runner stretched for a moment before he spoke.

"Sometimes… though my owner's a breeder, he's never been able to find a female with a pedigree like mine."

"Is that important to him?" Tira continued.

"In a way, breeders try to find pokemon with good genes, usually their offspring turn out healthier. Champion bloodlines like mine are more valuable which is why breeders work hard to maintain them." Said Runner.

"I see… our species' gene pool seems to have gotten smaller…" Tira pointed out.

"But not to a point where it could collapse." Runner added.

"True…" Tira sighed.

She and Runner sat on the porch in silence. The only sound that could be heard were birds singing and traffic in the distance.

"I suppose I should get going."

"All right, it was good seeing you again." Said Runner.

"You too, is this the only time you'll be here?" Tira asked.

"Oh no, my human takes breaks in between competitions, so I'll be around. Why do you ask?" Runner answered.

"Um… no reason." Tira said sheepishly.

The two of them yelped in surprise when they accidently touched each other's paws.

"Sorry, I'll see you." Tira told him before she got up.

"Yeah… see ya." Runner said quietly as he watched her leave.

The next day, as Ash and friends prepared for the Bonitaville film festival, they received an unexpected update.

"I got a text from Tracy, Professor Juniper sent a photo of a footprint she and Daisy found at the museum's rose garden. He thinks it must've been that lucario Stephan and Bianca saw." Said Brock.

"Wow!" was all Misty could say.

She and the others were currently in the lobby of the pokemon center.

"I heard Professor Juniper is doing a presentation in the fossil exhibit at the museum." Said Ash.

"That's right, it's part of the film festival, the presentation is tomorrow night." Brock explained.

"We should go." May suggested.

"Yeah," Max agreed.

"Sounds good to me." Said Ash.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"This'll be great." Brock said with a smile.

"For sure!" Misty exclaimed.

Meanwhile at the natural history museum…

"Don't go too far, Truc. We need to be back here after lunch to help finish setting up." Said Daisy.

Truc nodded before he took off running into the garden.

As he stretched, the leafeon noticed something.

"Hey, it's you." He said.

Truc walked over a patch of grass in between a row of champagne colored roses.

"Oh, hi." Tira greeted him once she realized who it was

"How's it going?"

"Great, Daisy is a really nice human. I get three meals a day, she brushes my fur and I get to come to the museum with her." Truc explained.

Tira then noticed the olive green collar around Truc's neck with two brass tags hanging from it.

"Sounds good." She said.

"Oh, it is. I never got to thank you." Truc replied.

"For what" Tira asked.

"Your help, if it hadn't been for you, Daisy wouldn't have taken me in." Truc answered.

"Oh…um… you're welcome." Tira sputtered.

"I could just kiss you!" said Truc.

Tira held out her right paw to hold him back.

"I'd prefer if you didn't." she said.

Although Tira didn't know Truc for long she could tell he was good natured and smart but at the same time he could be pretty talkative.

"No problem." The male leafeon replied.

He sat back on his haunches.

"Look, if there's anything I do for you, just let me know."

"Aw, you don't have to." Said Tira.

"I'm serious, if you need anything just ask." Truc insisted.

Tira smiled.

"All right, I will."

Just then, Truc remembered what Daisy told him.

"I better go, see ya later." He said.

"Back at you." Tira barked.

Later that day…

Runner growled playfully as he pinned Tira down.

The two of them were currently playing in the backyard.

Tira yelped when Runner tugged on her left ear.

"Are you all right?" he asked, hoping he didn't hurt her.

Tira then jumped on him, knocking the male lucario to the ground.

Runner laughed for a moment.

Tira quickly got up and ran.

"Tira?" Runner called.

He looked around for a minute.

The male canine was then alerted by a playful bark.

Runner quickly turned around and spotted Tira.

"Wow, you're good."

The female wild dog giggled.

"Thank you." She said before stepping out of her hiding place under the porch.

"My siblings used to play like this when we were pups."

"That must've been fun." Said Runner.

"Yes, it was. So, same time tomorrow?" Tira asked.

"Sure," was Runner's reply.

Tira nodded and made her exit.

Runner let out a loud sigh, once again he was alone.

_Meanwhile…_

"Wow, Ash I can't believe we came in third place." Said Brock.

"Yeah, that's awesome." Misty agreed.

"What she said," May and Max said simultaneously.

Ash smiled.

They just left the museum after attending the film festival. Brock and Ash's short film with Pikachu had come in third place out over 200 entries.

"Thanks guys, I'll catch up with you later." Said Ash.

"Where are you going?" Misty asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I gotta go call my mom, she's gonna love this." Ash answered.

"C'mon Pikachu."

"Pika!" the yellow mouse replied before running off with Ash to find the nearest pay phone.

Misty stood there on the street corner with Brock, May and Max all three of them looked rather dumbfounded.

"How long before he realizes he could've called her from the pokemon center?" she asked.

"I'll give him fifteen minutes." Said Brock.

It wasn't long before they all started laughing. Having known Ash for so long they all knew he had a habit of running off and didn't realize there was an easier way of doing things until after the fact.

_A few weeks later…_

Runner yawned as he stepped out the dog door.

It was rather quiet for a Tuesday…well… up until now.

"Morning," a female voice greeted him.

Looking to the right, Runner found out where the voice was coming from.

"You're here early." He said.

Tira's tail was waging slightly

"I know, I thought we could check out the museum." She said.

It didn't take long for Runner to make up his mind.

"All right, my owner is gone for the day, let's go."

A short time later the two of them reached the natural history museum.

Normally, the museum was crowded on Tuesdays due to students on field trips from different schools. The rose garden was pretty much deserted with the exception of a few pidgettos, staravias and an emolga.

"You know, when you mentioned the museum, I was surprised; considering how you try to avoid people." Said Runner.

"I didn't mean going in the building, there's of things to see outside. Like the pond." Tira explained.

In another part of the garden was a small pond. Several water pokemon such as quagsire and mudkip lived here as well as a few far fetch'd and swannas.

Runner and Tira stopped for a break on a dock near the pond.

"So, you visit this place often?" he asked.

"Not really, when I'm in the city I like to stop here once in a while. The rose garden is amazing." Tira answered.

"Yes it is." Runner agreed.

Like Truc, he was surprised at just how large the garden really was and had never seen so many roses in one place.

Runner looked at his surroundings, his ears perked up slightly, listening to the birds singing in the background.

"Ya know, I've been thinking… about what you said."

Tira looked up from dipping her right front paw in the clear pond water.

"You have?" she asked.

"And… I'll be honest, you've been a good friend." Runner answered.

"Thanks." Said Tira.

"Really, I haven't been this happy in months. Half the time I don't see a lot of my friends, usually because they're off traveling with their owners." Runner confessed.

"So you spend a lot of time alone?" Tira asked.

Runner blinked.

"No, my human has other pokemon but none of them are canine."

"I see." Said Tira.

"Truth is… I've hardly met females like you on the show circuit." Runner continued.

Tira raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, you're kind, smart and overall… nice to be around." Said Runner.

"Oh… why, thank you." Was all Tira could say.

"Look, Tira I…" Runner was quickly cut off.

"You what?" Tira asked.

Runner lowered his head.

"It's no big deal." He said.

"Can I say something?" Tira replied.

"Go ahead," said Runner.

"You're the first of my kind that I've seen since I left Kanto." Tira admitted.

"And?" Runner asked.

"Well…" Tira paused to scratch her left ear.

"I was…"

She gulped nervously as she tried to get herself together.

"Maybe…"

"What?" Runner continued, still confused.

"Have you ever thought about what it'd be like living in the wild?" Tira asked.

"Yes but…" Runner stopped and shook himself.

"I'd never leave my owner."

"You… wouldn't?" Tira replied.

"No, I could never do that, not after all he's done for me." Said Runner.

"I understand." Tira answered.

There was an awkward silence between the two canines but it only lasted for a few seconds. After watching a swanna swim by, Runner spoke.

"I had heard that our kind was… eradicated from Johto but I didn't think it really happened. I thought it was a rumor."

"I did too but…" Tira stopped short and sighed.

"I'm the only one in this whole region… in the wild I mean."

"Oh," was all Runner could say.

Once again they stopped talking.

Runner glanced at Tira, particularly her periwinkle colored fur and semi pricked black tipped ears.

The female lucario looked up when she noticed Runner just sitting there.

"What is it?" she asked, her blue eyes staring back at his brown ones.

"N-nothing. Let's go check out the rest of the museum." He suggested in an effort to change the subject.

"Yes," said Tira as she stood up on all four paws.

Two days later, Runner found out some shocking news that would change everything.

"So, what are you gonna do?" Bebarel asked him.

"I don't know, Bobby." Runner sighed.

He was currently in his dog house in the backyard talking with Bobby and Stevie, two other pokemon his owner had. Bobby was a typical bebarel with tan and white fur and copper brown eyes.

"Well, you gotta tell her something." Said Bobby.

"Yeah, ya don't have too long." Stevie, a male starraptor pointed out.

"I'm aware of that, Stevie." Runner replied, trying keep from letting out a warning growl.

Although he and Stevie grew up together there were times where they had their differences. When Bobby and Stevie had asked Runner about Tira he explained how they met and became friends.

"'Kay, so… what's the plan?" Stevie asked, blinking his cherry red eyes.

"I'll tell her the next time I see her." Runner replied.

"Well, better make it soon, Run." Stevie suggested.

He shook himself, fluffing his black and gray feathers.

"Yeah, see ya later." said Bobby.

He got up from where he sat and went back into the house with Stevie not far behind.

Runner sighed. He knew his friends were trying to help but he was still on his own in this situation.

"How am I going to explain it?" he wondered.

Runner snapped out of his thought when he heard a family and friendly bark.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, watching as Tira entered the yard.

"I thought I'd surprise you." She replied.

Runner smiled.

"You certainly did that."

He began wagging his tail.

"Let's go." Said Tira.

Runner froze, tucking his tail between his legs and remaining where he sat.

"I don't know, I probably shouldn't."

While he had no problem leaving during the day, it was night time and on top of that his owner was home.

"C'mon where's your sense of adventure?" Tira asked.

"I must've lost it when I was a riolu pup." Runner muttered.

"Just this one time?" Tira begged.

Letting out a loud sigh, Runner knew he couldn't get out of it.

"All right."

"Great." Said Tira.

Using her sharp canine teeth she bit the rope tied around Runner's collar.

His owner often tied his collar to a rope which was held down with a wooden peg whenever he was outside at night. The rope was about 12 feet long allowing Runner to stand up and walk around.

"There's something I'd like to show you." Tira explained.

_Later…_

"What are we doing back here?" Runner asked as he followed Tira into the rose garden at the museum.

"Well, I know you're used to the lights in the city so, I thought you'd want to see this." Tira explained. She sat down on the grass and looked at the sky.

Runner looked in the same direction, his eyes bucked at what he saw.

"Look at those stars." He said.

"It's the only spot in the city I know of where you can see them like this." Tira explained.

"Well, this is a great spot." Runner agreed.

He sat down next to Tira under the sakura tree that was in the middle of the garden. It was a clear night and several stars as well as few planets could be seen.

"You had told me this tree blooms in the spring."

"Yes, it's beautiful, you should see it." Said Tira.

"This is the biggest sakura tree I know of."

"Interesting…" Runner said as he looked at the tree. At the moment, the only things on the branches were emerald green leaves but in March they would be covered with white and pink cherry blossoms.

"Tira, there's something I need to tell you… I…"

"Probably should get back home? I understand, if your owner found out, he'd be worried about you." Said Tira.

"Uh, right." Runner replied.

Although that wasn't exactly what he was going to say but he went along with it for now.

He and Tira left the garden heading back towards his neighborhood. They walked side by side along a path of lavender colored roses, though they were mostly known as sterling silver.

"One thing, you never told me why you're called Runner." Said Tira.

"It's because I love to run." Runner replied.

"Watch this."

Before Tira could do anything, Runner took off down the path.

"Hey, wait up!" she barked and went after him.

Moments later, the two lucarios were back in Runner's neighborhood.

The duo laughed as they entered the yard.

Tira sighed happily as she sat down on the grass.

"That was fun." She said.

"Yeah," Runner agreed.

He lapped up some cool water from his dog bowl and sat down beside Tira, both of them exhausted from running.

"Tira,"

"Yes?" Tira replied before she paused to scratch her left ear.

"I…" Runner stopped and swallowed hard.

"I know we haven't known each other for long but I…" he stopped short.

"You what?" Tira asked.

"I… Tira, you see…" Runner sputtered. He then gave up, letting out a loud sigh.

It didn't take long for Tira to figure out what he was trying to say.

"Wait, you mean…?" she asked.

Runner nodded in response.

Tira was shocked. She sat there staring at Runner.

"I… I don't know what to say," she confessed.

"If you want to think about it..." Runner started to say only to be cut off again.

"No, no, I just…wow." Tira said to him.

Runner simply lowered his head.

"You all right?" Tira asked, sounding concerned.

"Yes, just thinking." Runner answered.

"Runner look, I… this is crazy, you're a pet; I'm from the wild." Said Tira.

Runner looked at her. Tira's fur had a platinum tone to it due to the moonlight shining on it. His own fur color also looked different more like a metallic blue instead of cobalt.

"So what? We're still friends." Runner pointed out.

It didn't bother him that she was a wild dog and he wasn't.

"True," Tira agreed.

Lifting her head up, she howled.

Getting nervous, Runner tried to get Tira to stop.

"Are you crazy?" he asked.

"Nope, try it." Said Tira.

"I don't think so." Runner replied.

The last thing he wanted to happen was for his neighbors to find out.

"One try, please?" Tira begged.

"Ok." Said Runner.

He then let out a loud wolf like howl.

"How was that?"

"Not bad." Said Tira.

The two of them didn't say anything else and continued to howl.

"Shut up!" someone shouted.

"Will you be quiet?!" yelled a female Delcatty from next door.

"Sorry," Runner said nervously.

_The next morning…_

Tira yawned as she woke up. After opening her eyes she realized where she was.

"Huh? How did I…? What?"

"Good morning," Runner greeted her.

Tira stepped out of the doghouse, obviously confused.

"How did… why am I still here?" she asked.

"You fell asleep." Runner answered.

"Did anybody see me?" Tira said nervously.

"No," Runner replied.

"Here,"

He pushed a ceramic dog bowl towards her with his snout.

"What's that?" Tira asked.

"Kibble, high quality. Give it a try." Said Runner.

Tira sniffed the contents in the bowl. She was taken aback by it. Having lived in the wild, she ate whatever she caught and not much else.

"Uh… thanks." Said Tira.

She tried some of the kibble which to her was actually wasn't as bad as she thought.

"This is pretty good."

Within a few minutes, the bowl was empty.

"There's something I need to tell you." Said Runner.

Tira finished licking the beef flavored crumbs in the bowl and looked up.

"Right, you said that at the museum. What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"I… I'm leaving." Runner replied.

Tira blinked and looked at Runner in surprise.

"Your human? You changed your mind about living in the wild?" she asked.

"Uh, no I'm not leaving my owner… I meant I'm leaving the city." Runner announced.

Tira nearly fell over, was he serious about this?

"Y-you are? When?"

"In five days, I just found out yesterday. I couldn't bring myself to tell you." Said Runner.

"I know you said that you're out of town a lot because of the different competitions but… I didn't expect you to leave this soon." Tira confessed.

"Neither did I, but what can I do? My human's a breeder; we travel frequently because of the show circuit." Runner explained.

Tira was shocked, at first she thought he changed his mind and decided to leave his owner to live with her in the forest where they could start a pack and raise pups. However, that wasn't the case, Runner would be leaving Bonitaville and he and Tira only had five more days left to spend together.

"So, how long will you be gone?" Tira asked.

"At least three months." Runner answered.

Tira's jaw dropped.

"What?!" she barked.

"I'll be back, I promise." Said Runner.

"But, Runner that's an awfully long time." Tira pointed out.

"Yes, though I've been away for as long as six months once. So it could be worse." Runner told her.

"True." Tira agreed.

Runner moved closer and licked her cheek. It was obvious he loved Tira who was now his mate.

"You know I care about you, right?" he asked.

"Of course I do." she answered and nuzzled him with her snout.

"I just… can't believe you're gonna be gone soon."

Her blue eyes stared back at his dark brown ones.

"Neither can I, but it'll go by quickly. It usually does." Said Runner.

"Oh, good." Tira sighed.

Feeling somewhat better she wagged her tail.

Meanwhile on the other side of town, Runner and Tira weren't the only ones who were having a rather awkward morning.

"C'mon Ash, we got to be downtown in fifteen minutes." Brock called.

"Yeah, we don't want to be late." Max added.

"Coming, guys." Said Ash.

He and the others had got word that Dawn; one of their friends was in town. They decided to meet up at the Pancake house café in the downtown area. Misty and May had already gone ahead to wait for Dawn at the train station, while Ash, Brock and Max were back at the pokemon center getting ready. Grabbing his backpack and hat, Ash headed out the door.

"Pika!" said Pikachu as he followed his trainer and friends.

A few days later, things changed.

Tira was asleep in her den. Although she and Runner were mates and he shared his doghouse, she still liked her den back in the forest. She had only showed to Runner once. The female lucario yawned loudly and stretched. It didn't take her long to realize she had overslept.

"Oh! I better hurry."

She quickly left her den and headed towards the city.

A while later Tira had reached the house.

"Please be here." She muttered.

Tira went into the backyard and looked around.

"Runner." She called but didn't get a reply.

Tira barked, hoping he would hear her.

She continued to look around but didn't find him.

His bowls were gone. The doghouse was also empty.

Tira's ears perked up when she heard the sound of a car pulling out of the driveway.

"Huh?" she sputtered.

After making her way out of the gap in the fence she saw a black Toyota minivan pass by.

"Wait!" she yelled.

Tira barked loudly as she chased after the van.

"Hold up!"

She stopped when she got to the end of the block.

Tira watched as the van drove off.

"Well, that's it, then. He's gone." She said with a sign.

Tira lowered her head, she didn't even say good bye and now Runner was on his way to another region. She looked in the direction where the van went before she decided to head back to the forest with tears in her eyes.

_Meanwhile, on the other side of town…_

Pikachu's ears perked up. Being in the rodent family, he had very good hearing.

"Pika?"

He turned around looking towards an alley behind a nearby coffee shop.

"Pikachu, what's wrong?" Ash asked.

"I don't see anything," said Brock who was also looking in the same direction as Ash and Pikachu.

"Me either," May admitted

"Oh well," Ash said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"What took you?" Misty asked.

"Yeah," said Max.

He and Misty were standing on the corner, waiting for their friends to catch up.

"Pikachu was acting like someone was following us." Ash explained.

Misty frowned.

"Really?"

"Maybe it was Team Rocket." Max suggested.

Everyone looked at each other for a minute and thought about it.

"Nah!" the group said simultaneously and started laughing

As they continued on their way. Having spent some time in Bonitaville their next stop was Bloomingvale. Two days of traveling on foot…sounded easy enough or was it?

**MORE TO COME…**

**And that's a wrap for chapter 3. Sorry it took so long. Was feeling sick last week but have recovered since then. Ok… some commentary… Truc's name is Vietnamese it means 'Bamboo'. Richard Karn played Al Borland on the sitcom Home Improvement. Will Fredle did the voice of Ron Stoppable in the Disney channel series, Kim Possible. Tom Kenny is mostly known for doing the voice of SpongeBob, he's also played Plastic Man in an animated short which aired on Cartoon network as part of their DC Nation line up.**

**Don Rickles did the voice for Mr. Potato head in the Toy Story movies. The trees mentioned in the early part of this chapter are all native to Japan. Some Team Rocket's lines are based on quotes from Beethoven's 3rd, The Emperor's New Groove and the Yes, Dear episode: Hooked on Comics. Truc's line about the fish is from a scene in the movie, The Adventures of Milo and Otis. Other lines are based on quotes from the following: The Proud Family, The Jamie Foxx Show, 101 Dalmatians: The Series, Lady & The Tramp 2: Scamp's Adventure, Rugrats, Sagwa the Chinese Siamese cat, 101 Dalmatians 2: Patch's London Adventure, Monsters Inc., Justice League, Are We There Yet?, Pound Puppies episodes: 'Dog on a wire', 'Rebel without a collar' and the Cosby Show episode 'Bring 'Em Back Alive'. Chapter title is from the season one finale of the anime, Massugu Ni Ikou('Let's walk straight'). Oh, anyone want to guess who Runner's owner might be? here's 2 hints that were already given, he's a breeder and also owns a Bebarel and a Natural history museum in this chapter is based on the one in Los Angeles which also has a rose garden.**

**If anyone missed the Superbowl, the Seahawks won!**

**Sorry for any typos. Anyway, started working on chapter 4 which will be posted probably the following weekend. **

**Ciao for now!**


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